Lead poisoning lawyer for NYC children hurt by lead paint
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Most New York injury lawyers charge a share of any money recovered, agreed in writing, not an upfront fee. How these fees work
If your child's blood test shows lead and your family rents in an older NYC apartment, a lawyer who handles lead poisoning can look into whether your landlord ignored the city's lead paint rules. Three things get checked: the building's history with lead, your child's blood work, and proof of where your child has lived. When lead paint in a rental poisons a child, families can often bring a claim against the landlord.
- usual New York time limit to sue, from when the injury was found; for a child it usually starts at 18
- 3 years
- usual deadline, from when the claim arose, for a written notice of claim against the city or NYCHA
- 90 days
- CDC blood lead reference value, a medical benchmark, not a legal cutoff
- 3.5 µg/dL
- children NYC lead law protects; a review starts with a high blood test and an older rental, usually built before 1960
- Under 6
Your next steps
- Keep children away from peeling paint. Wash hands, toys, pacifiers, window sills and floors often, and keep children away from rooms where repair work makes dust. Don't sand, scrape or repaint old paint yourself, because that creates lead dust.
- Get your child tested. If you think your child was exposed, get a blood lead test from the doctor now. At age 1, and once more at age 2, New York also requires the test. How the test works
- Check the building's record. See every open lead paint violation HPD lists for the address. Look up a building
- Put your complaint in writing. Tell your landlord about the peeling paint, and whether a child under age 6 lives there. Free letters in English and Spanish
- Report the problem to HPD. Call 311, or report it online, about peeling paint or repair work that makes dust. Filing is free, and your immigration status doesn't matter.
- Child tested high for lead? Follow the doctor's plan for retesting, then talk to a lead paint lawyer about the building's record: call (888) 503-5930.
Where a lead paint lawyer starts
The first thing to review is your child's blood tests. The CDC's blood lead reference value is 3.5 micrograms per deciliter. For children ages 1 to 5, a result at or above that level is in the highest 2.5% nationwide (source). That number is a medical marker, not a legal cutoff, so a lower result doesn't rule out a claim. It's still worth a call.
The test may be a finger prick, a heel prick or a blood draw from a vein. Keep every result with its date, since the whole set shows when the lead climbed and how far.
The building's record matters too. On this site's home page, choose the borough and enter the house number and street, like "710 E 243rd St", to pull up its lead paint orders.
Lead can hurt a child who seems fine
Most kids have no obvious symptoms at the start, so the harm can hide. According to the CDC, lead can injure the brain and nervous system, slow a child's growth, and trigger trouble with learning, behavior, hearing, and speech.
Young children are hurt most by lead, and no safe level has been found. Because lead stored in bone can take decades to go down, a claim looks at your child's future too, not only today.
How long do you have to file a lead poisoning case in New York?
The state allows 3 years to bring a personal injury claim. When a substance like lead causes the harm, the clock usually starts when the injury came to light, or reasonably should have.
Children get more room. The law in New York counts the years before adulthood as infancy, and while a child is a minor the clock is paused, leaving 3 years to file once it ends. For a child hurt by lead paint, there's no 10-year cap on that extra time, so a claim can often be filed up to three years after they turn 18.
Claims against the city or NYCHA run on a much shorter clock. A written notice of claim is usually due within 90 days, so call as soon as you can.
| Kind of case | How long you have |
|---|---|
| Harm claim against a private landlord | 3 years |
| Child's case | On hold until adulthood, then 3 years |
| Notice of claim sent to the city or NYCHA | Typically 90 days |
| Suit naming a housing authority | One year, plus 90 days |
Apartment and clinic records are simplest to collect while they're fresh, so calling today gets that going.
Which buildings does NYC's lead law cover?
NYC's Local Law 1 of 2004 places lead paint duties on owners of covered homes when a child under 6 routinely spends at least 10 hours a week there. The law covers:
- Buildings built before 1960 that contain 3 or more apartments
- Rentals in one- and two-family homes built before 1960
- Co-op and condo homes where neither the owner nor the owner's family lives
- Buildings put up in 1960 to 1978 where the owner knows lead paint is present
By August 2025, owners of buildings predating 1960 had to test every painted surface in apartments and common areas for lead, once. If you have your apartment's test results, bring them to the free case review. The reviewer can also look at the building's lead record with you.
The city's lead records for your building
HPD, the city's housing department, sends lead paint orders to building owners. HPD's records show 15,974 NYC buildings with at least one open lead paint violation. That adds up to 92,446 open violations, and 82,412 of them are class C, the city's most serious kind.
In December 2021 the city cut in half the amount of lead it takes for paint to count as lead paint. Under that rule, peeling paint is treated as a lead hazard unless a test shows its lead is below the new limit. An open order is part of the building's lead history, so bring what you find to your free case review and the reviewer can consider it alongside your child's tests.
Lead poisoning settlement and compensation
There's no set figure, because each child's tests, health, and building history differ. A real number can only come from a close read of the records: how high the lead got and for how long, the doctors' findings, the building's orders, and when the landlord learned of the problem.
A claim can ask for:
- care and testing from doctors, now and down the road
- therapy, tutoring, or special education help
- damage to the child's health and everyday life
- reduced earning power as an adult
The evidence decides which of these fit, and nobody can promise an outcome.
What a lead poisoning attorney charges
The case review is free. Most New York injury lawyers work on a contingency fee: you pay nothing up front, and the lawyer receives a share of any recovery. That share is usually a third, sometimes less, or set on a sliding scale.
Costs for experts and medical records are usually repaid from any recovery before the lawyer's fee is calculated. The written retainer agreement lists what you'd owe if the case recovers nothing, so ask the firm to explain its fee and costs before you sign.
Call and a case reviewer will go over your child's test results, your address and anything you've noticed in the apartment. The review is free, and records are easier to gather while they're fresh.
Ask for a free case review
Prefer to write it down? Send the details below to the case review team. Calling is faster: (888) 503-5930.
Questions people often ask
What sort of lawyer handles lead poisoning?
One who takes personal injury cases, since New York treats lead poisoning in a child as that kind of claim.
Can we sue even if the city never cited the building?
Sometimes. Local Law 1 looks at how old the building is and how much time the child spent in the apartment, not at whether HPD ever wrote up an order.
Does moving out end our chance at a claim?
Not by itself. Many families who have moved out still have a claim, and a child's deadline is paused until 18. Call and a case reviewer will check your dates with you.
What evidence backs up a lead poisoning case?
Blood tests with their dates, your lease or rent receipts, any notes or messages you sent the landlord about the paint, and the building's HPD lead file.